Shell winds down UK retail sites as it sells off 185 service stations April 13, 2015 Shell has continued to downscale its European retail operations after announcing its intention to sell off 185 UK service stations yesterday. The announcement by the Anglo‐Dutch oil giant, which last week launched a £47bn bid for BG, comes after the firm made similar divestments in Italy, Germany and Norway last year. The sell-off will involve [...]
Aviva takeover of rival Friends Life completes April 13, 2015 UK INSURER Aviva was up by 1.17 per cent after the first day of trading following completion of its takeover of Friends Life. The company announced yesterday that almost 1.1bn new Aviva shares had been admitted to the London Stock Exchange, taking its total number of issued shares to around 4.05bn. Aviva unveiled its £5.6bn [...]
China trade collapse gives officials headache April 13, 2015 CHINA saw exports plummet in March, exacerbating the country’s growth dilemma. Exports dropped by 15 per cent last month compared with the same month a year earlier, according to official figures released yesterday. Imports fell by 12 per cent on the year, reflecting a weaker domestic economy. The country is currently in transition from investment-led [...]
If music be the food of city business April 13, 2015 BUSINESS rocks, according to the latest trend in corporate trouble shooting, which sees former Boots senior development manager Stuart Cross use his love of music to provide valuable business lessons. In his weekly Growth Riffs For Business Leaders newsletters, Cross delivers choice nuggets of rock-pop wisdom to more than 1,000 business leaders in the form of [...]
Malcolm Rifkind’s cousin Oliver: Why politics is good for the kids April 13, 2015 Word has reached The Capitalist that Malcolm Rifkind’s cousin once removed, Oliver Rifkind, is hoping to redress the damage done by a wayward political class next week, with the launch of a plush charitable event to inject disillusioned young people with boundless enthusiasm in the run up to the General Election. Not put off by [...]
Ashcroft hits out over Dave bio April 13, 2015 Billionaire Tory peer Lord Ashcroft is refusing to toe the party line in the run-up to the General Election in May, publicly teasing David Cameron over a biography he is writing on the PM. Due to be released in the autumn, the new bio, called Call me Dave, has sparked controversy in cabinet quarters. The [...]
Heineken toasts £162m Lasko bid April 13, 2015 HEINEKEN is set to acquire a majority stake in Slovenian brewer Pivovarna Lasko for €224m (£162m), it was announced yesterday. Under the terms of the agreement Heineken, the world’s third largest brewer, will buy a 51 per cent stake in Pivovarna for €25.6 per share. Pivovarna was forced to put itself up for sale last [...]
Telecity passes German hurdle in Interxion bid April 13, 2015 TELECITY was given the go-ahead by German regulators yesterday to proceed with its all-share merger with Interxion Holding. The European data centre operator announced its intention to merge with its US-listed rival Interxion in February in a deal which would create a new entity with a combined value of $4.5bn (£3.07bn). Under the proposal, Telecity [...]
Deloitte and its partner reduce fines in MG case April 13, 2015 THE FINANCIAL Reporting Council (FRC) reduced sanctions on accountancy firm Deloitte and its former partner Maghsoud Einollahi yesterday after the duo’s successful appeal regarding the collapse of MG Rover in 2005. An appeal hearing in January overturned eight of the FRC tribunal’s 13 findings of misconduct and disregarding public interest from 2013. Upon review of the appeal, [...]
Winter energy bill pain for 14m April 13, 2015 OVER 14m households were forced to go cold this winter as families struggled with the cost of energy bills, according to figures released by uSwitch today. While most energy companies have been passing on the benefits of falling wholesale prices to consumers in the past year, the latest survey suggests many families are yet to [...]
